How to remove TopSearchMaps browser hijacker?

What kind of application is TopSearchMaps?

TopSearchMaps is a browser hijacker that promotes the topsearchmaps.com address, a fake search engine. TopSearchMaps hijacks a browser by changing its settings. A big part of browser hijackers is promoted using questionable methods. Thus, it is common for them to be downloaded and installed inadvertently.

TopSearchMaps browser hijacker in detail

TopSearchMaps modifies settings such as the address of a homepage, new tab page, and homepage. It sets them to topsearchmaps.com - a fake search engine that can redirect users to search.yahoo.com, nearbyme.io, and possibly other addresses. Topsearchmaps.com can show results generated by trustworthy and untrustworthy search engines.

Fake search engines can be used to promote untrustworthy pages or show results generated by questionable search engines. Either way, it is recommended not to have any browser hijackers installed or use fake search engines to browse the Internet.

Threat Summary:

Name	TopSearchMaps
Threat Type	Browser Hijacker, Redirect, Search Hijacker, Toolbar, Unwanted New Tab
Browser Extension(s)	TopSearchMaps
Supposed Functionality	Improved browsing experience
Promoted URL	topsearchmaps.com
Detection Names (topsearchmaps.com)	Avira (Phishing), Bfore.Ai PreCrime (Malicious), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal)
Affected Browser Settings	Homepage, new tab URL, default search engine
Symptoms	Manipulated Internet browser settings (homepage, default Internet search engine, new tab settings). Users are forced to visit the hijacker's website and search the Internet using their search engines.
Distribution methods	Deceptive pop-up ads, free software installers (bundling), fake Flash Player installers.
Damage	Internet browser tracking (potential privacy issues), display of unwanted ads, redirects to dubious websites.
Malware Removal (Windows)	To eliminate possible malware infections, scan your computer with legitimate antivirus software. Our security researchers recommend using Combo Cleaner. ▼ Download Combo Cleaner To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. 7 days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

Browser hijackers in general

The purpose of browser hijackers is to promote fake search engines. It is worth mentioning that apps of this type (and fake search engines) can be used as tools to gather various information about their users. A couple of examples of other browser hijackers are TopCouponSearch, PDFConverterWeb, and Perfect-Converter.

How did TopSearchMaps install on my computer?

Browser hijackers often are distributed by bundling them with other programs. In such cases, they are included in downloaders and installers for other programs as optional downloads and installations. This distribution method works when users download and install programs without changing settings available in downloaders and installers.

In other cases, browser hijackers are distributed through advertisements and fake installers promoted on deceptive websites. Advertisements install unwanted apps only if they can run specific scripts and users click on them.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications?

Avoid using third-party downloaders, unofficial pages, and similar sources to download programs, files. Use official websites for that. Do not click on advertisements appearing on dubious pages. Deselect unwanted applications before downloading and installing programs bundled with PUAs.

If your computer is already infected with TopSearchMaps, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate this browser hijacker.

Topsearchmaps.com redirects to (GIF):

Browser notification informing about what TopSearchMaps can do:

Website promoting TopSearchMaps browser hijacker:

IMPORTANT NOTE! This deceptive site asks to enable web browser notifications.

Therefore, before commencing, perform these steps:

Google Chrome (PC):

• Click the Menu button (three dots) on the right upper corner of the screen and select "Settings"
• Scroll down to the "Privacy and security" section, select "Site settings" and then "Notifications"
• Click three dots on the right hand side of each suspicious URL and select "Block" or "Remove" (if you click "Remove" and visit the malicious site once more, it will ask to enable notifications again)

Google Chrome (Android):

• Click on the Menu button (three dots) on the right upper corner of the screen and tap "Settings"
• Scroll down, tap on "Site settings" and then "Notifications"
• In the opened window, locate all suspicious URLs and tap on them one-by-one
• Once the pop-up shows up, select either "Block" or "Remove" (if you tap "Remove" and visit the malicious site once more, it will ask to enable notifications again)

Mozilla Firefox:

• Click the Menu button (three bars) on the right upper corner of the screen
• Select "Settings" and click on "Privacy & Security" in the toolbar on the left hand side of the screen
• Scroll down to the "Permissions" section and click the "Settings" button next to "Notifications"
• In the opened window, locate all suspicious URLs and block them using the drop-down menu or either remove them by clicking "Remove Website" at the bottom of the window (if you click "Remove Website" and visit the malicious site once more, it will ask to enable notifications again)

Microsoft Edge:

• Click the menu button (three dots) on the right upper corner of the Edge window and select "Settings"
• Click on "Cookies and site permissions" in the toolbar on the left hand side of the screen and select "Notifications"
• Click three dots on the right hand side of each suspicious URL under "Allow" section and click "Block" or "Remove" (if you click "Remove" and visit the malicious site once more, it will ask to enable notifications again)

Safari (Mac):

• Click "Safari" button on the left upper corner of the screen and select "Preferences..."
• Select the "Websites" tab and then select "Notifications" section on the left pane
• Check for suspicious URLs and apply the "Deny" option using the drop-down menu or either remove them by clicking "Remove" at the bottom of the window (if you click "Remove" and visit the malicious site once more, it will ask to enable notifications again)

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Quick menu:

• What is TopSearchMaps?
• STEP 1. Uninstall TopSearchMaps application using Control Panel.
• STEP 2. Remove TopSearchMaps browser hijacker from Google Chrome.
• STEP 3. Remove topsearchmaps.com homepage and default search engine from Mozilla Firefox.
• STEP 4. Remove topsearchmaps.com redirect from Safari.
• STEP 5. Remove rogue plug-ins from Microsoft Edge.

TopSearchMaps browser hijacker removal:

Windows 11 users:

Right-click on the Start icon, select Apps and Features. In the opened window search for the application you want to uninstall, after locating it, click on the three vertical dots and select Uninstall.

Windows 10 users:

Right-click in the lower left corner of the screen, in the Quick Access Menu select Control Panel. In the opened window choose Programs and Features.

Windows 7 users:

Click Start (Windows Logo at the bottom left corner of your desktop), choose Control Panel. Locate Programs and click Uninstall a program.

macOS (OSX) users:

Click Finder, in the opened screen select Applications. Drag the app from the Applications folder to the Trash (located in your Dock), then right click the Trash icon and select Empty Trash.

In the uninstall programs window: look for any recently installed suspicious applications (for example, "TopSearchMaps"), select these entries and click "Uninstall" or "Remove".

After uninstalling the potentially unwanted applications (which cause browser redirects to the topsearchmaps.com website), scan your computer for any remaining unwanted components. To scan your computer, use recommended malware removal software.

TopSearchMaps browser hijacker removal from Internet browsers:

Video showing how to remove browser redirects:

Remove malicious extensions from Google Chrome:

Click the Chrome menu icon  (at the top right corner of Google Chrome), select "More tools" and click "Extensions". Locate "TopSearchMaps" and other recently-installed suspicious browser add-ons, and remove them.

Change your homepage:

Click the Chrome menu icon  (at the top right corner of Google Chrome), select "Settings". In the "On startup" section, disable "TopSearchMaps", look for a browser hijacker URL (hxxp://www.topsearchmaps.com) below the “Open a specific or set of pages” option. If present click on the three vertical dots icon and select “Remove”.

Change your default search engine:

To change your default search engine in Google Chrome: Click the Chrome menu icon  (at the top right corner of Google Chrome), select "Settings", in the "Search engine" section, click "Manage search engines...", in the opened list look for "topsearchmaps.com", when located click the three vertical dots near this URL and select "Remove from list".

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the topsearchmaps.com redirect, reset your Google Chrome browser settings. Click the Chrome menu icon  (at the top right corner of Google Chrome) and select Settings. Scroll down to the bottom of the screen. Click the Advanced… link.

After scrolling to the bottom of the screen, click the Reset (Restore settings to their original defaults) button.

In the opened window, confirm that you wish to reset Google Chrome settings to default by clicking the Reset button.

Remove malicious plugins from Mozilla Firefox:

Click the Firefox menu (at the top right corner of the main window), select "Add-ons". Click on "Extensions" and remove "TopSearchMaps", as well as all other recently installed browser plug-ins.

Change your homepage:

To reset your homepage, click the Firefox menu (at the top right corner of the main window), then select "Options", in the opened window disable "TopSearchMaps", remove hxxp://topsearchmaps.com and enter your preferred domain, which will open each time you start Mozilla Firefox.

Change your default search engine:

In the URL address bar, type about:config and press Enter.
Click "I'll be careful, I promise!".
In the search filter at the top, type: "extensionControlled"
Set both results to "false" by either double-clicking each entry or clicking the button.

Optional method:

Computer users who have problems with topsearchmaps.com redirect removal can reset their Mozilla Firefox settings.

Open Mozilla Firefox, at the top right corner of the main window, click the Firefox menu, in the opened menu, click Help.

Select Troubleshooting Information.

In the opened window, click the Refresh Firefox button.

In the opened window, confirm that you wish to reset Mozilla Firefox settings to default by clicking the Refresh Firefox button.

Remove malicious extensions from Safari:

Make sure your Safari browser is active and click Safari menu, then select Preferences...

In the preferences window select the Extensions tab. Look for any recently installed suspicious extensions and uninstall them.

In the preferences window select General tab and make sure that your homepage is set to a preferred URL, if its altered by a browser hijacker - change it.

In the preferences window select Search tab and make sure that your preferred Internet search engine is selected.

Optional method:

Make sure your Safari browser is active and click on Safari menu. From the drop down menu select Clear History and Website Data...

In the opened window select all history and click the Clear History button.

Remove malicious extensions from Microsoft Edge:

Click the Edge menu icon  (at the top right corner of Microsoft Edge), select "Extensions". Locate any recently-installed suspicious browser add-ons, and remove them.

Change your homepage and new tab settings:

Click the Edge menu icon  (at the top right corner of Microsoft Edge), select "Settings". In the "On startup" section look for the name of the browser hijacker and click "Disable".

Change your default Internet search engine:

To change your default search engine in Microsoft Edge: Click the Edge menu icon  (at the top right corner of Microsoft Edge), select "Privacy and services", scroll to bottom of the page and select "Address bar". In the "Search engines used in address bar" section look for the name of the unwanted Internet search engine, when located click the "Disable" button near it. Alternatively you can click on "Manage search engines", in the opened menu look for unwanted Internet search engine. Click on the puzzle icon near it and select "Disable".

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the topsearchmaps.com redirect, reset your Microsoft Edge browser settings. Click the Edge menu icon  (at the top right corner of Microsoft Edge) and select Settings.

In the opened settings menu select Reset settings.

Select Restore settings to their default values. In the opened window, confirm that you wish to reset Microsoft Edge settings to default by clicking the Reset button.

• If this did not help, follow these alternative instructions explaining how to reset the Microsoft Edge browser.

Summary:

A browser hijacker is a type of adware infection that modifies Internet browser settings by assigning the homepage and default Internet search engine settings to some other (unwanted) website URL. Commonly, this type of adware infiltrates operating systems through free software downloads. If your download is managed by a download client, ensure that you decline offers to install advertised toolbars or applications that seek to change your homepage and default Internet search engine settings.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is the purpose of forcing users visit topsearchmaps.com website?

The higher the count of users who have visited the topsearchmaps.com website is, the more revenue individuals behind it generate.

Is visiting topsearchmaps.com a threat to my privacy?

A page like topsearchmaps.com/a fake search engine can be designed to collect various information about its visitors. The same applies to browser hijackers.

How did a browser hijacker infiltrate my computer?

Most browser hijackers are get downloaded and installed through browser notifications, intrusive advertisements, installers for other programs.

Will Combo Cleaner help me remove TopSearchMaps browser hijacker?

Yes, Combo Cleaner will scan your computer and eliminate TopSearchMaps. Users who have multiple browser-hijacking applications installed on browsers should remove all of them at once. Otherwise, they may reinstall one another. Since it can be challenging to get rid of apps of this type manually, it is recommended to remove them using specialized software.

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